


Find Me - Discontinued

by Gamergirl2170 (orphan_account)



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: AU background, Autistic Sara Ryder, F/M, First try at slow burn, Multi, Other, Protective Scott Ryder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-30 14:50:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10879068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Gamergirl2170
Summary: Sara and Liam had met before Andromeda- they're best friends, actually. But, how many secrets can a friendship handle, before it breaks? Sara has two: One, she's autistic, and two, well that's just between herself, Scott, and SAM, but it might be it the open, sooner rather than later.First, can Sara even handle the excitement, and hype that Liam brings around her? How did they even become friends in the first place? Find out, in here.My first ever Andromeda story, sorry if it's not any good, I'll keep trying.





	1. Prologue

 

_~Seven Years Old~_

 

“ _Your daughter’s not ill, Alec!_ ” Ellen cries as I lay in bed, my auburn hair pulled back in a damp braid, my arms around the bear in my hands, face buried in the bear’s stomach as my parent yell in the other room.

 

“ _Not ill? She not normal!_ ” Alec Ryder yells back. “ _Anyone can tell, just looking at her!_ ” I flinch at the spite in my father’s tone, when the door to my room creaks open, and Scott stands in the door, dressed in his Krogan pajamas, his space monkey in his hand as he scurries in, close the door quietly behind her, before I sit up, holding back my comforter to let my brother slip inside, he curls up close, his hand landing on my own, his green eyes gleaming in the light of my nightlight.

 

“Are you okay, Sara?” He asks quietly, I just nod my head, cuddling into my brother’s warmth, our hands grasping each other.

 

“ _She needs to be fixed!_ ” I flinch at my father’s words, causing Scott to from, holding my close.

 

“ _Oh, that’s your solution for everything! Do you realize that Sara is the smartest girl in her class?! She’s scored a 190 out of 200, on a college level test!_ ” Ellen defends, there is the sound of wood splintering, and a growl of anger.

 

“I’m sorry, Scott.” I murmur, looking up at my brother, who hushes me, running his fingers through my hair, scratching his fingers on the base of my neck, a relaxing stimulation that calms me. “It’s my fault they’re fighting.”

 

“No, it’s not. Dad just doesn’t understand that you are different. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Scott points out as our parents continue to fight in the background. “I can’t sleep with them fighting, can you?” I shake my head, sitting up with a smile on my face.

 

“Let’s build a blanket fort!” I suggest, causing him to nod excitedly, the two of us scurry off the bed, pulling spare blankets and such from my closet, before we construct our tent, sticking my night sky nightlight in the fort, we pile the floor with pillows and blankets, and lay in the makeshift tent, looking at the stars on the ceiling, talking and laughing happily into the early morning hours. Before long, we fall fast asleep, hands clasped together, heads next to each other, exhausted.

* * *

 

_~Fourteen Years Old~_

 

Stumbling around, my bag clutched to my chest, my head low as I am shoved back and forth between a group of four boys, how laugh as the continue, one pauses to tug on my braid, causing me to whimper in pain, be he shoves me, when suddenly to boy that is about to catch me, is turned, and slugged across the face, causing me to look up with wide eyes. “Scott!” I cry in surprise, the three other boys watch as the first boy climbs to his feet, wiping blood off his lip, then turns, suckerpunching Scott in return, causing my brother to stumble back, and red starts to tinge my eyesight as I throw my bag down, screaming in rage, lunging at the boy, my fist lands on his face repeatedly, while Scott deals with two others, the four one runs away.

 

“Sara Evelyn Ryder!” My head snaps up at the aghast voice, finding mom and dad standing on the walkway, while Scott turns to them as well, the other two boys run off as Scott comes over, helping me to my feet, the final boy scurries away from me, face completely bloody, one eye puff, and a fat lip developing. “Scott James Ryder!” Mom cries in surprise.

 

“They were shoving Sara around, and tugging on her hair.” Scott pointedly looks over at dad. “Dad told her to never fight back. Let it happen.” Ellen Ryder looks at her husband in surprise, he pointedly looks away.

 

“She’s not a child. She needs to toughen up.” Alec says, jaw jutting out, as if that’s an excuse. “You’re both grounded.”

 

“But, dad-” Scott attempts to protest

 

“ **Enough!** You heard me.” Alec Ryder hisses, stalking off as Ellen looks back at my brother and I, before hurrying after my father, and Scott shakes his head, smirking over at me.

 

“Nice punch.” He chuckles, causing me to smile up at him. “I’ll treat your fists when we get home.” With that, he scoops up my bag, handing it to me, and I follow after my family with a smile.

* * *

 

_~Sixteen Years Old~_

 

Scott and I stand on the dock, my knapsack at our feet as I hug him, my fingernails scraping against the scalp of his short auburn locks, he ruffles my hair as we pull apart, shoot me a wink. “Go kill ‘em, twerp.” Scott chuckles, causing me to wrinkle my nose at him.

 

“How you calling twerp, kid brat.” I shoot back, causing him to roll his eyes.

 

“A _minute!_ ” He shoots back as I let out a laugh, waving as I climb on the transite, the door closes as I drop into a seat, pulling a datapad from my bag, which switches on, and my college information pamphlet flickers to life on the screen, bright and full, the words slowly crawling down the page as my eyes flicker across them, my brain working faster than people thought possible. Things were changing, now that I was going to school to become an engineer, my father had agreed to pay the tuition, just to get me out of his how, Scott entered military school, guts and guns like our dad, and mom’s gotten sick. The agreement with my dad and I was, he’ll pay for my schooling if, on top of training to become an engineer, I’ve got to get medical training, so that’s what I am doing.

 

Things were definitely changing.

* * *

 

_~Twenty Years Old~_

 

Stepping off the ship, my bag slung over my shoulder, I look around the platform, looking for a familiar face, when a call of my name causes me to look up, and unfamiliar dark skinned man, my age, hurries over. “Sara Ryder, right?” His british accent is deep, thick, running down my spine, causing me to smile at him, nodding.

 

“Right.” I add, shrugging my bag further up my shoulder, studying the man’s handsome face, he smiles at me as I study his face, before he shakes his head.

 

“Right! I’m Kosta. Liam Kosta, your HUS-T1 mentor.” He holds out his hand for me to shake, causing me to bite back a wince, reaching out slowly to take it, and he shakes my hand sharply. “Nice to meet you, bet your tired from the journey huh?” He smiles at me, his white teeth blinding against his dark skin, and I look down, unable to meet his gaze.

 

“Something like that.” I answer quietly, and he chuckles, letting go of the that that he’s still shaking, seeming to remember his place.

 

“Right, HUSTL got us some rooms at a nearby hotel, for the night.” He nudges me forward, causing me to pay attention to my feet, his own pair falling into step beside me, the two of us silent as we walk towards the hotel down the block. “So, you’re Alec Ryder’s daughter, right?” He finally asks, causing me to look up at him. “Dumb question, forget I asked.” He laughter it off as look forward, watching my step around the crowded street. “Your dad’s N7, the first, how’s that feel?” He asks, causing me to shrug.

 

“It’s fine, I guess. A lot of pressure.” I shrug again. “My dad and I don’t acknowledge each other, Ryder’s the only connection.” I state quietly, Liam has to lean in to hear me talk, but he chuckles.

 

“You're quiet. Don’t talk much, do ya?” He asks, bounce in his step, reminding me a puppy. The thought has me ducking my head, laughing softly so he doesn’t see or hear me, before long, we’re checking into our rooms at the hotel, and once we get up to them, I slam my door, dropping my bag at my feet, and lean against the nearby wall with a relieved sigh, my head falling into my hands. _Thank god, that’s over._ My thoughts yell in my head. _If everyone’s like that, this is going to be more difficult than I thought_. With a sigh, I climb to my feet, rolling my neck, and shaking out my hands.

 

“Okay. This is okay. I can do this.” I nod to myself. “I can do this. I _can_ do this.” I smile to myself. **_I can do this._ **


	2. Chapter 1

 

The transport to HUSTL HQ was slow, with Liam sitting across from me, blabbering about every little thing that he can think of, my fingers drum across my leg in a pattern, a muscle memory from playing the piano for so long- it sooths me enough to where I don’t feel my anxiety climbing the roof. “So, when we get there, don’t be surprised if everyone’s a bit on edge, or overwhelming.” Liam’s voice brings me from my thoughts, causing me to look up from my lap, eyes meeting, blue on brown, before I look away sharply. “True is, we’re all stoked you’ll be learning at our HUSTL.”

 

“I’m excited to learn. Crisis response is a big thing in my family’s life.” I answer as he chuckles, nodding.

 

“Right, but what about _you_ ?” He asks, causing me to tilt my head, looking out the front window of the vehicle, fingers digging into the leather of the seat beneath me. “We’ve been in this car for nearly an hour, and you’ve barely said one word about _you_.”

 

“There’s… not much to say. Daughter of N7 star, sister of future N7 star.” I shrug, looking over at him out of the corner of my eye, seeing him smirk, shaking his head.

 

“There’s more to it, than that. Come on, you have a story- everyone does.” Liam insists, causing me to look down, biting my bottom lip with a sigh.

 

“Average childhood, sick mom, twin brother, dad that’s hardly ever there, and advanced intelligence- Graduated college with six degrees, last year.” I answer, look at my boots with a sudden interest.

 

“Wow… That told me absolutely nothing.” He quips. “A story is more than a few things, that’s like saying my name, then saying I work for HUSTL, then saying I used to be a cop, and leaving it at that.” I roll my eyes, tugging at my braid with a sigh.

 

“I just… I don’t like to talk about myself. I’m not that interesting.” I state, my tone is exasperated, and I finally meet his gaze for a minute as he leans forward, elbows resting on his knees, chin on his clasped hands, while he studies me, eyes trailing over my figure, lips twitching in a smirk while I turn away once more.

 

“I think there’s more to you, than you want to let on.” Liam states, before he cracks a full-blown smile. “Alright, keep your secrets. I _enjoy_ a good mystery.” He practically purrs, causing a shiver to run down my spine, his voice echoing in my ears.

 

“I am _not_ a mystery!” I hiss at him. “I am person, who is trying to be like everyone else!” I shift in my seat, toeing the divots in the floor, my hands clasping the sides of the seat, while Liam just sits back in his seat, humming as I focus on my breathing, trying to calm myself slowly. A few minutes later, we finally pull up at HUSTL HQ, where I grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, following Liam of the transit, and into the nearest large building.

 

“This is the HUSTL apartment building, we’ve all been assigned one, so that way we can stay near the HQ.” Liam explains. “I’ll take you to your flat, so you can drop off your luggage.” He says, leading over to the elevator, where I pause outside as he steps inside. “Something wrong?” He asks as I pretend to admire the crease in the floor where the cream-colored border meets the thick red carpet.

 

“Um, n-not really…” I grasp my knapsack strap with two hands. “Just, you mind taking the stairs?” Liam steps out, a frown on his face, and places a gentle hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump, and he pulls away quickly.

 

“You okay?” He inquires as I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

 

“I-I may have… a phobia of elevators… and claustrophobia as well.” I manage to meet his eyes for second, before looking away as he hums.

 

“Alright, stairs it is.” Liam takes my knapsack from my arm, despite my surprise, my mouth opening and closing like a fish as he directs the both of us down the hall, and I hurry to follow as he rounds, climbing up the stairs. Rushing to keep up with him, as we hit the fourth landing, he opens a door, striding inside the hallway there, before matching his pace to my own. “There’s not a lot of us here, so we all have the rooms with the best views- I’m the only other one on this floor, our apartments are across from each other, I thought you’d like the company, given the chance.” I don’t say anything as he fishes a set of key from his pocket, holding them out to me as we stop at a door. “There’s the key to your apartment, the gym, the workshop, and HQ on there.” He explains as I open the door, stepping into the large apartment- I look around.

 

There’s a small kitchen area to the right of the door, complete with oven range, fridge, dishwasher, and cupboards, a small window before the stove opens to the living room, which is wide with a balcony overlooking a body of water, a sectional sofa, coffee table, and holoscreen with an entertainment center. A dining room is off to the side, a small table with two chairs, and a chandelier hangs overhead, a bookshelf in the corner by the window, housing a radio on top of it, and a few knick knacks on the shelves. Toward the back of the apartment is a hall, with a cupboard, and three doors, one leads to the laundry room, another to a large bathroom, and the third to a large bedroom. Entering the room, the plush white carpet seems to suck in my feet, a queen-size bed is up against the far wall, where windows let the light it, a large closet opens to a dresser and rack for shoes, and there is another bookshelf, empty, allow the left wall, waiting to be filled. “This is mine?” I ask in disbelief, my hand landing on the bright orange wallpaper, and Liam stands in the doorway, smiling at me as I run my hand over the panel on the wall, causing part of the wall to open, and a keyboard to fall out of it, a foldout bench accompanies it as well.

 

“Mentioned in your dossier, you loved playing piano.” He says as soon as I look back at him in question, I run my fingers over the keys, drawing out the melody, before I smile, sliding the piano back up into the wall, and turn back to him, holding out my hand.

 

“Bag.” I state, causing him to chuck my bag to me, where I turn, placing it down on my bed, before crossing over to him, the two of us backtracking to the front door, where he leads back down the stairs, and I follow quietly.

 

“So, what made you want to join HUSTLE?” He asks once we step outside, he turns to me, arms behind his head as he walks backwards, I keep my eyes on my feet.

 

“Well… my mom’s sick, and my dad and I have no contact, but in order to get funding, I had to get a degree in a medical field. When all was said and done, I wanted to make a difference, to help others in my own way.” I rub my neck. “Sorry, that sounds so dumb, doesn’t it.”

 

“Not at all. You got tired of doing things for your family, because they hoarded it You wanted to do something for yourself, without being selfish. HUSTLE’s a good choice.” Liam answers, causing my lips to quirk up into a small smirk. “Over there’s the hospital, if you ever need it.” He points to a large build to the left, the swings his arm around, point to the one-story building to the right. “That there’s the gym, it’s got a pool, a sauna, weight room, ice skating rink, you name it, we got it.” He turns with his arms behind his head again. “Up ahead it HUSTLE HQ, it’s basically where we all work, spend a lot of our free time, the like. Alliance set us up good- didn’t want us to feel too lonely out here.” He explains, tilting his head back to look at me, smirking as we enter the large office building, where he directs us to the stairs. “First floor’s workshops, things to do in spare time.”

 

“Huh…”I murmur to myself.

 

“Second floor’s all the office area. We work together, no cubicles, or anything like that. The area’s open, and free.” With that, he opens the door to the office area, where Asari, Turian, Elchor, Vorcha, and about a dozen other species are scurrying around the place, working diligently, causing me to smile warmly. “I can introduce you to a few of the others, if you’d like?” Liam offers.

 

“I… maybe later. I’d like to get to work.” I answer, causing him to nod in understanding.

 

“Right, first day, training, lots to take in. Got it.” He smiles at me, which I catch from the corner of my eye, before he leads me around the others, to my desk in the room, where I sit, cracking my fingers, and getting to work.

* * *

 

When the lunch bell tolls, Liam is instantly at my desk, smiling down at me, causing me to raise an eyebrow at him. “You said later, well it’s later.” He supplies, gesture to the room around u, where others are getting ready to leave for lunch, but I look back down at the holo computer before me. “Come on, you can’t work through lunch.”

 

“Can’t?” I challenge.

 

“Okay, I won’t let you.” He waves his hand, causing me to gape as my screen goes blank. “If you want this information back, you’re going to have to come to lunch with me.” Liam beams, as though his plan is brilliant, causing me to sigh, pressing my seat back as I stand, looking at him annoyance, I follow him to where we eat lunch, he slips his arm around my shoulder, causing me to cringe, squirming under the weight, while he holds out a paper sack to me. “You didn’t have a lunch.” He provides as I stare at it, before looking back up at him, taking it.

 

“Oh… thanks.” He shrugs it off, removing his arm from my shoulders.

 

“I didn’t make it. Tavel did.” He merely smiles at me, walking out a door, into a courtyard full of tables with people eating at them, I quietly scurry after him. “Hey guys, meet Sara.” Liam says, once we’ve approached a table full of different kinds of species. Everyone looks up, all eyes on me as I give a nervous laugh and wave, causing Liam to become all cheeky.

 

“Uh… hi.” I murmur, looking down at my boots.

 

“These are Tavel, Meeana vas Reema, Korffic, Lath, and Conner.” Liam introduce, point each one out, Tavel is Turian, Meeana is Quarian, Korffic is Asari, Lath is Salarian, and Conner is another human. “This will be your go to team, while studying here at HUSTLE.” Liam explains, causing my nerves to dim a bit.

 

“Join us!” Meeana says, her eyes bright behind her green helmet, Liam nods as soon as I glance at him, he drops into a seat, saving room for myself beside him, and everyone starts talking as I pull out food from my bag. It’s a simple ham and cheese sandwich, orange slices, and grape juice, something a grade school would have, which works fine for me.

 

“So, Sara.” I look up at Lath looks over, smiling at me. “You’re Alec Ryder’s daughter?”

 

“Uh, yeah.” I answer.

 

“Wait, Sara Ryder?” Korffic asks, bouncing a bit in her seat. “I read your thesis paper of planetary environments, and the effects the Mass Effect Relays have on them- it’s brilliant!”

 

“Oh… well, thanks I guess.” I take a bite of my sandwich, savoring the flavor.

 

“Why in the galaxy, would you come planetside? You could have any job you want!” Lath points out, his tone is merely curious.

 

“Well, my dad got discharged from the Alliance, work on his AI is illegal, and… well that’s put my brother and I on the blacklist, as well as some of our closest friends. So, work is… kind of hard to come by, right now. I was offered this internship, so I thought I’d take it. I want to do something for others, not just my family, but this is also for myself.” I explain as best as I can, tugging my braid, looking down.

 

“Well, welcome to the best HUSTLE team there is.” Tavel says, smiling at me as her mandibles flutter in a cheerful way.

 

“Yeah, welcome!” The others greet, causing me to smile, and everyone falls into conversation, like we’re old friends, causing me to feel a settling sensation fall over me. _Things will be okay._ I look over at Liam, who smiles at me, winking. _Yeah, things will definitely be okay._


	3. Chapter 2

 

_ ~Three Months later~ _

 

Stumbling into my apartment, I trip over the umbrella stand by the door, turning to shush it, before laughter bubbles up from my throat, escaping my lips, and suddenly the lights flicker on, causing me to freeze, looking over to find Liam Kosta sitting on the couch, arms crossed over his chest, waiting almost expectantly. “ _ Liaaaam! _ ” I beam at the surly looking mentor as I stumble over to him, collapsing on the couch beside him with my arm thrown over the back, my head tilt, and a silly grin on my face.

 

“Sara. You. Are. Drunk.” Liam’s tone is a displeased one, causing me to frown playfully, my brow furrows, and I huff as I cross my arms.

 

“So grumpy.” I chirp, before laughing as I fall across his lap, humming contently. “I feel  _ sooo _ good!” I smile dazedly up at him. “Things have been so hard. I should’ve left a long while ago.”

 

“So, instead, you go out, underaged, to the bar, and get pissfaced drunk?” Liam growls, forcing me to sit up. “You don’t deal with these things alone. You come to me! I am your mentor, and I thought we were also becoming friends!”

 

“Friends.” I let out a bubbly laugh. “Who’d want to be friends with me? I’m too  _ odd _ .” I murmur rolling back as I tangle my fingers into my braids’ end, tugging it free, causing my auburn hair to fall down freely.

 

“You’re not  _ odd _ , Sara. I like you, the way you are.” Liam argues, setting his hand on my head, raking his fingers through my hair, eyes full of curiosity.

 

“That’s cause you don’t know the  _ real _ me. Autism sucks.” I grumble, causing his brow to furrow.

 

“Autism?” He asks, causing me to gasp.

 

“How’d you know? Did the dragons tell you?!” I cry out, before bursting into giggles, rolling over, only to squawk as I fall off the couch, Liam’s hands flying out in an attempt to catch me. “Owie.” I groan as I lean up from my place on the floor, Liam reaches out to help me back into my seat, before he looks at me expectantly.

 

“You have something, you need to tell me, Sara?” He asks, causing me to hum, leaning back on the armrest of the couch, my head tilted back.

 

“I’m drunk.” I answer, causing him to chuckle lightly.

 

“We’ve covered that.” He answers, causing me to look at him, smiling as wide as I can.

 

“I have high functioning autism.” I let my head fall back again, groaning as Liam stands, pushing my legs off of his lap, and rounds over to where I am, crouching down so that we’re looking at each other’s face.

 

“You didn’t think about telling me this, when we started out? I have to find out, when you’re not even going to remember telling me?” His expression is troubled, but I let out a dopey laugh, and reach out, booping him on the nose. “Okay, Sara, it’s time for bed. You’re getting up with me early, and we’re going to the gym.” He rounds to the side of the couch, lifting me, like a sack of a potatoes, over his shoulder, causing me to squawk, my hands reaching up to press my skirt of my dress down. He takes me back to my room, dropping me onto my bed, before he wanders over to my chair, grabbing my pajamas that he tosses at me, and walks out- I change quickly, stumbling around the room, before falling back in my bed with a groan. “Here.” He walks back in, a glass of water in one hand, some pills in the other. “Take these, or you’ll regret it.” I swallow the pills, downing the water, before rolling over to snuggle up to my body pillow, before he shakes his head, leaving the room with the lights turned off, suddenly sleep claims me. Flying up into a sitting position at the sound of my door swing open, connecting loudly with the wall, I glare at Liam Kosta, who is blowing on a whistle, dressed in black sweatpants, and a blue muscle shirt, a pair of sneakers as he jogs into place.

 

“I will  _ murder _ you, Kosta.” I hiss, rolling over to pull my blanket over my head, having stripped down to my undergarments last night, during my vaguely lucid moment up, when I was sweating so bad that I had.

 

“Nope, you get up!” Liam blows the whistle loudly, which gets closer. “This is your punishment, for drinking underaged!”

 

“You do the same!” I bite back, causing him to chuckle, throwing back my blanket, causing me to scream, reaching for it to cover myself again as he blinks rapidly, before his face tinges red as he looks away. “What the **_fuck_** is your problem?!” I hiss as I grope the blankets around my body. “I’m up, now get out!” I hiss, causing him chuckle nervously as he backs towards the door, ducking out before shutting the door behind him, and I let out a sigh, standing to dress in black sweats, a white muscle shirt, and black sneakers, I tug my auburn locks back into a ponytail, grabbing my headphones as I duck out to the main corridor.

 

“Look, Sara, that’s… my bad.” Liam says from his spot in the kitchen, where he’s spooning eggs onto a plate.

 

“Look, just because I’m 20, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to drink. Last night was… difficult.” I explain, crossing over to grab a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, which I pour some in a glass, before walking over to the table as Liam places the plate before me, and nods.

 

“You want to talk about it?” He offers, taking me by surprise as I shake my head, taking a strip of bacon, nibbling on the end of it.

 

“We’re associates. We work together Liam, but we are  _ not _ friends. You are a mentor, not a therapist.” I spit back, keeping my eyes on the table before me, he sits across from me as I pick at my food.

 

“What all do you remember, about last night?” Liam asks, causing me to sigh, facepalming as I shake my head.

 

“I remember you being on my couch when I walked in the door, before that, out at the bar after working late, some guy tried sticking his tongue down my throat, and I slammed him into the the nearest wall.” I answer, biting off a good chunk of bacon. “I remember everything, up until I saw you on my couch.”

 

“So, you don’t remember our conversation?” His tone is a bit disappointed.

 

“Oh god, don’t tell me I tried kissing you, or something.” I groan, causing him to chuckle.

 

“No, nothing like that, promise.” Liam waves it off, causing me to let out a relieved sigh, rubbing at my eyes. “Sara,” I look up at his serious tone, he angles his chair towards me, grabbing my hand, and looking into my eyes, which lasts a few seconds before I look away. “no, Sara, look me in the eye.” His tone leaves no room for argument, and I swallow thickly, before looking up, blue on brown, my heart rate starts to pick up, practically smacking against my ribcage. “You told me something, that I believe you hadn’t meant to tell anyone.” My heart sputters as my eyes widen in panic, and I look down. “Sara,” I swallow thickly as his gentle hand squeezes my own. “what form of autism do you have?” He asks, causing my breath to hitch, and I drop my head in embarrassment.

 

“Do…  _ please _ , don’t treat me different.” I can’t help the begging tone in my voice, looking up into his eyes once more, tears welling in my own. “I-I try not to stick out. I try not to be different, but  _ please _ don’t treat me any different. D-Don’t tell anyone,  _ please  _ Liam.” I beg, causing his bow to furrow, and he shakes his head.

 

“I’m not going to tell anyone, I swear.” His thumb rubs across the back of my hand. “I’m not going to treat you any different, either. But, I want you to feel, you can tell me these things.” I drop my head again, feeling guilt eat at my insides. “Hey,” He ducks his head, to gaze at my face. “I’m not telling you this to upset you. I want to be friends, I’ve been trying to be your friend since day one.” He smiles as I lift my head a bit, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “I think you’re pretty cool.”

 

“Th-Thanks, Liam…” I stammer out, rubbing at the back of my neck as I stand, half full plate of food in my hand, before I place it in my fridge, and turn to him. “We should get going, to the gym, yeah?”

 

“Right.” He smiles, standing up as well. “Let’s go.” With that, he leads out my door, pausing to let me lock it, before we start to jog down the stairs, towards the door, and outside to the gym. Something tells me, things are going to change. Let’s just hope they’re for the better.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentions of unwilling abortion- If it triggers you, please skip the second half of the chapter.

_ ~Two weeks later~ _

 

Wiping sweat from my forehead, Liam and I step back from the heavy post that we’d just set up, I smile over at Tavel and Meena, who had just hefted their post up, the Quarian’s eyes squint, telling me that she’s smiling as Lath kicks a ball into the field, and Conner kicks it two one of the kids in the group of refugees, that Korffic was originally entertaining until now. Wandering over to the nearby, make-shift, bench off to the side, I drop down onto it as I fan myself, tugging at the collar of my shirt, stick perspiration covers me as Liam drops down beside me, holding out a frosty bottle of water, allowing me to take it as I unscrew the cap, practically chugging the whole thing. “Who would’ve thought that Asteria was  _ so _ hot.” I groan, capping the bottle of water, and placing it to my forehead.

 

“Well, it  _ is _ called a desert planet.” Liam points out as Korffic, Lath, and the others join the soccer match.

 

“But, we colonized closest to the poles, so that it  _ wouldn’t _ be so uncomfortable.” I counter, causing Liam to chuckle, nodding as he tugs off his shirt, over his head, the heat appearing to get to him.

 

“We still have to use protection beams, to colonize.” Liam responds finally, cause me to nod, then glance over to the ship sitting to the left, waiting to take the HUS-T1 group to board, in order to take us back to Earth. “Hey,” He nudges me, causing me to glance over at him, and he smirks. “want to sneak on board, and wait in the AC?” He whispers, causing me to beam, standing up with a stretch of my limbs, and we book it towards the ship as soon as everyone is looking away, ducking up the ramp, and racing toward the lift, where we collapse in laughter once the doors close. The AC blasts over us as I let out a relaxed sigh, smiling over at my mentor, who chuckles, the lift takes about five minutes to stop in the crew deck, allowing us to clamber to our feet, wandering over to our bunks, and drop onto one, side by side.

 

“I feel bad for Meena, in that suit all the time.” I state, causing Liam to chuckle, and I look at him like he’s insane.

 

“Quarian’s have built in heat sensors, in their suits. When they get too overheated, their suit fill with, practically, arctic air.” Liam explains, causing me to frown.

 

“Well, that’s just not fair.” I state, crossing my arms over my chest, pouting a bit as Liam smirks. “Want to watch a flick?” I ask, suddenly straightening up as I flip open my omni-tool, tapping the screen a few times.

 

“Sure.” He answers, watching as I expand the screen, in order to cast it on the opposite wall, and flick through the list of movies on my wrist.

 

“I think I have… Ah-ha!” I click on a file, causing the movie to flick across the wall, and I grab a pillow from the top bunk, leaning back in my seat, hugging the pillow to my chest, Liam copying me an original Batman plays quietly, Liam and I pointing out oddities, and I occasionally point of a mechanical error, the two of us joking around the entire time. During the middle of the second movie, about the middle of it, I start to become drowsy, my head nodding once or twice, before I shake it, attempting to force myself to stay awake.

 

“Tired?” Liam asks, causing me to nod, yawning a bit.

 

“I haven’t slept well, lately.” I answer, causing him to chuckle, before I feel my head being guided down, before I realize it, to his shoulder, the scent of military issued soap, a heady blend of spices, and something purely  **_Liam_ ** fills me nose, causing me to bite back a smile, closing my eyes as exhaustion washes over me, causing me to fall fast asleep.

* * *

 

“Lath, where are we  _ going _ ?” I whine, following the Salarian through the crowd, dressed in a tight red, off-the-shoulder, shirt, a loose black skirt, and black high heeled boots, my auburn hair is plaited down my back, and I have my diamond earrings in.

 

“We’re going to celebrate, you first successful job.” Lath responds, smiling back at me, while I sigh, hanging my head as we enter a bar, the music is loud, bass thumping, lights flashing as people dance, and others throw back drinks.

 

“ **_Sara! Lath!_ ** ” My head snaps up at Liam’s call, finding him waving over the crowd of people, which Lath uses as a beacon to steer us through the dancers, before pushing me down in a chair at the table where Liam was standing, the others are all there as I grip the edges of my seat, glaring at my mentor across from me, who gives me a cheeky smile. “Glad you could join us,  _ at last _ .”

 

“Shut up, I didn’t even  _ want _ to come out, tonight.” I retort, cause his cheeky smile to widen, and I gape at him. “You planned this!”

 

“Exactly. Now, who’s up for some shots?” Liam calls, causing me to frown as Meena slides me a glass of clear liquid, and I take a sip of it, shuddering at the tangy burn of alcohol.

 

“ _ Sara? _ ” I freeze at the voice behind me. “ **_Sara Ryder?_ ** ” Everyone at the table turns to look at the figure behind me, while I swallow thickly, leaning around to find an all too familiar figure standing there, his hair is cropped short, blue eyes shielded by a visor, dressed in all black with multiple neon lights sew into the fabric. “That  **_is_ ** you!”

 

“H-Hey, Lyle.” I slowly stand, stepping away from the table as Lyle smiles brightly, letting out a laugh.

 

“What’re you doing here, babe?” He asks, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer as I cringe, pressing against his chest.

 

“I’m  _ trying _ to celebrate.” I answer, attempting to escape his grasp. “Can you, like, let go of me?” He lets out a loud laugh, as though it’s a joke. “I’m serious, Lyle!”

 

“Sure you are! How about a kiss?” He brings his face closer to my own, before I bring up a hand, planting it against his forehead, struggling again, to break away. “Come on, baby, just one kiss.”

 

“No, let go!” I hiss, suddenly I am ripped from Lyle’s grasp, spun around so that a hand is pressing against my stomach, keeping me guarded as Liam stands before me, fist wrapped in Lyle’s shirt, while Meena and Lath hurry over to either of my side, Connor stands, ready to interfere if necessary, while Tavel and Korffic are on guard, both fingering their pistols on their hips.

 

“Why don’t you get lost, pal?” Liam hisses, causing Lyle to burst into laughter, again.

 

“Who are these, chumps, baby?” Lyle shoots me, leaning to the side to look past Liam’s shoulder, while I drop my head. “Bodyguards?”

 

“Don’t look at her, look at me.” Liam snarls, his other fist is clenching tightly.

 

“Baby, come on!” Lyle calls.

 

“Stop calling me that!” I scream. “You- You’re a monster!” Tears well in my eyes, my fist clenching. “You are a monster, and I told you never to touch me, or talk to me again!”

 

“Is was one little incident.” Lyle responds.

 

“ _ Little?!  _ You  **killed** someone!” I bite back, causing him to throw his head back, laughing.

 

“Can call a thing that never developed, a person!” Lyle answers, Liam suddenly strikes him across the face, while tears well past their prisons, and I slip out of the protective circle, racing towards the door.

 

“ _ Sara! _ ” Liam yells, I can hear his chasing after me as I duck out of the bar, rounding to the nearest transport station, a hand wraps around my wrist, and I let out a scream, spinning around to punch them in the face as hard as I can, the person goes flying to the ground with a loud grunt.

 

“Liam?!” I cry out, dropping to his side as he chuckles, slowly sitting up as he rubs his jaw.

 

“Ah, guess I had that coming.” He groans, looking me over. “You okay?”

 

“I-I’ve been better…” I look him over, my hand probing the area I punched, watching his expressions carefully, to see where it’s tender.

 

“Sara, what was that all about?” He asks suddenly, taking me by surprise as I drop my head, shaking it.

 

“Nothing.” I lie, feeling it settle over my tongue, tasting bitter, like burnt coffee and stale toast.

 

“Sara, come on.” Liam lifts my head by the chin. “You can tell me. Who was that guy? What happened between you?” He asks softly, his fingers twisting a stray lock of my hair, and I find myself shaking, attempt to hold back my tears.

 

“That’s… His name Lyle Corsino, and he’s my ex.” I rub my palms of my hands on my skirt, looking at my hands. “He’s a member of the Blue Suns, but I didn’t know that when I was with him. I was… pregnant, but he forced me to have an abortion. He marched me to the clinic, at gunpoint, and threatened the clinic doctor, after I recovered, I dumped him, and ran away. I-I was 17.” I swallow thickly, tears falling down my face as I look up, Liam’s face has contorted to barely concealed rage, his eyes hold a blend of emotions, disgust the most prominent.

 

“He…” Liam shakes his head. “and he got away with that?” He seethes.

 

“Yes.” My voice comes out small, broken as I curl up, my knees pulled against my chest, tears falling freely as I press my head to my knees.

 

“Sara…” Liam grabs me, wrapping his arms around my middle, and he holds me close, causing me to let out a shuddering breath, falling into the hug, tears falling freely. “It’s alright Sara, you’ve got us now. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you- he’s not gonna hurt you every again, I promise.” Liam vows, causing me to sniffle, pulling back as I rub my eye, smiling at him.

 

“Th-Thank you, Liam.” I answer, causing him to nod, smiling at me, softly.

 

“Now, why don’t we go back to mine, and binge until we pass out.” He offers, causing me to let out a laugh, nodding.

 

“That sounds…  _ perfect _ .” I answer, the both of us standing carefully, before climbing in the transite, and Liam drives us away.


	5. Chapter 4

_ ~Liam POV~ _

 

In the library, leaning over star charts and maps, the end of a pen clamped between her teeth, is how I find her, late at night, when I can’t sleep, the door slides shut behind me, and I lean against the nearest bookshelf, my arms crossed against my chest, feet crossed at the ankles. My eyes sweep over her, her auburn hair is down from her braids, for once, her pale olive skin has a slightly unhealthy glow, and her blue eyes have bags under them, causing me to frown in worry, pressing from the shelf to step forward, making myself known. “When’s the last time you slept?” I ask, causing her to jump, whirling around to me with her hand on her heart, she slumps against the table with a relieved sigh.

 

“Liam! You startled me.” She says, her tone is light, but her voice is ragged, causing me to shake my head.

 

“Sorry. But, seriously Sara,” I step forward, reaching out to place my hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes. “when is the last time you slept?” Her eyes cast downward, pointedly unable to meet my gaze.

 

“I-I-It’s… been a few days.” She answers.

 

“How many is a  _ few _ ?” I ask, my tone is clearly displeased as her shoulders fall a bit, head lowered, looking all the more, like she’s got the entire galaxy resting on her shoulders, causing my heart to ache for her.

 

“Look, it’s not that simple, Liam.” She brushes my hand off, turning back to the star charts, the pen in her hand is scribbling across the paper of the table, and I blink in surprise, pen and paper isn’t something you find  a lot these days. “I have to figure this out.”

 

“Figure  _ what _ out, Sara?” I press, stepping towards her to look over her should, she rounds on me, narrowing her eyes in a glare.

 

“If you must know, my mother is sick. She’s been getting worse, and now she’s been admitted to a hospital, in America. I don’t have enough credits to go there, and come back in a three day span, let alone the time to take, from work.” Sara answers, causing me to stare at her in surprise.

 

“Sara, I… We had no idea! If you’d have told us…” I trail off, looking down at my shoes in surprise.

 

“I didn’t tell you, because it’s a family problem. We already knew she was sick, we knew it’s terminal, and now we’re just dealing with it the bet we can.” She turns, scratching out something on the paper, before sighing as she digs her fingers into her hair, before opening her omni-tool. “Scott?” She turns, walking out of the room as a young man, identical to her, flickers across her screen, and I lean over, observing the numbers that are scratched out on the paper, the only one circled is the final cost, causing me to nod, turning and walking out.

 

_ ~Sara POV~ _

 

Entering the office building, the next day, I sigh as my omni-tool blinks, alerting me to a message, which I open, climbing the stairs toward office, pausing outside the door as my eyes scan the message. All it says is ‘ _ Mom’s in critical, might be time to say goodbye. _ ’ causing me to frown as tears attempt to burn my eyes, a lump swells in my throat as I press the door open, and freeze when I see everyone run away from my desk, before I slowly walk over to it. A jar is sitting on my desk, filled to the brim with credits, and a card that says,  _ Go be with your mom, love your crew _ . causing my eyes to fill with tears, a smile coming to my face as Liam steps forward.

 

“You okay?” He asks, causing me to throw myself into his arms, hugging him as a tear falls, and I press a kiss to him cheek, grabbing the jar and card, tucking them into my bag, and dash out the door as fast as I can, hopping on the first shuttle to America, and rush to the hospital, just in time for Scott and Dad to leave an ICU room.

 

“Sara?” Scott asks in surprise.

 

“How is she? How is mum?” I ask, frantic.

 

“She’s… She’s fine for now, asking for you.” I nod at my dad, passing them both, and enter the room, where mom is laying, tubes attached to her, in the bed.

 

“Mum!” I rush over, reaching out to gently take her hand, and she smiles weakly, up at me.

 

“Hello, my darling.” She murmurs from behind her oxygen mask, causing me to smile, letting out a tearful laugh. “Come now, no tears. Let’s do this with some dignity.”

 

“Yes, mum.” I nod, reaching up to wipe at my eyes.

 

“So, how are you here? You couldn’t afford it.” She asks, causing me to sniffle pulling out my card, to show it to her, causing her to nod. “You got a good crew.” She smiles. “Have you found anyone that can accept you? The real you? That you’d like to be with one day?”

 

“No, mum, l-let’s not talk about me.” I shake my head. “This is about you.”

 

“Promise me something.” She says.

 

“Anything.” I swear, causing her to nod.

 

“Promise me, you’ll fall in love, at least once.” She asks, causing my brow to furrow, before I squeeze her hand softly.

 

“I promise, mum.” She nods, eyes fluttering weakly as she falls asleep for a bit, tears start to fall from my eyes as I stand, slowly walking out of the hospital room, wiping my tears, rubbing my eyes, attempting to compose myself as I wander to the waiting room, sitting down beside Scott, and my dad sits across from us both. “She’s asleep for now.”

 

“That’s good. She’s been in a lot of pain the past week or so.” My dad answers, causing me to finally look up at him.

 

“How long has she been in here for?” I ask.

 

“Two weeks.” He answers, numbly.

 

“You never thought to call? To write? I’m only clear across the world, Scott’s nearly across the galaxy!” I bark as he shrugs.

 

“Sara…” Scott attempts to sooth.

 

“No, they’ve been keeping secrets from us.  _ Again _ .” I hiss, causing my dad to narrow his eyes at me.

 

“I don’t see how it’s  _ any _ of your concern.” He snarls. “You have no claim to this family, as far as I am concerned.”

 

“I’m your  _ daughter! _ Just because I’m… I’m different, or because you think I’m broken, doesn’t mean I have no claim!” I snap as Scott rests a hand on my shoulder.

 

“I don’t  _ think _ you’re broken, I  **_know_ ** you are!” My dad shoots back.

 

“News flash, autism has to do with genetics and inbreeding!” I scream, finally getting fed up. “Every 1 out of 110 humans get it! So, if I’m like this, it’s because of  _ you _ and mom crossing somewhere in the family tree!” That shuts him up, right quick. “And mom doesn’t think I need to be fixed in anyway, and neither do my friends.” I press of the seat, stalking out of the hospital, and start down the road, into the nearest store, where I buy a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, stalking outside, I light a cigarette up, and draw from it.

 

“Sara!” I look up at Scott’s disgusted tone, he comes charging down the block, smacking to cigarette out of my hand, and I glare up at him. “You quit years ago!”

 

“I just need  _ one _ , dammit!” I answer, pulling another pack, going to stick it in my mouth, when Scott grabs it, snapping it, and throwing it on the ground. “ **Scott!** ” I snarl, he grabs my whole pack, and chucks them down the road, causing me to watch as a car drives over them, then look back at my brother with a glare. “ **_What_ ** do you think you are doing?!”

 

“Stopping you, from being a dumbass!” He snipes, causing me to look down, sighing.

 

“I’ve had a tough day, okay?” I grumble.

 

“So don’t make it any tougher!” Scott retorts, causing me to sigh again, nodding as I shove my hands into my pockets.

 

“You’re right. As always.” I shake my head, handing him my new lighter, which he slams on the ground, making it pop, and spark, before the fire flickers out.

 

“Come on, why don’t we go get some cocoa?” Scott asks, wrapping his arm around me, and directing me down the street. The next morning, mom is gone, and three days later, without much emotion, dad holds the memorial, and unable to be around him much longer, Scott goes back to his relay guarding, and I start home, to London.  _ Things had changed _ .


	6. Chapter 5

 

Despite the loud knocking on my front door, I curl up on my couch, my jersey stitch blanket wrapped around my body, drawn around my head, tears falling as the knocking becomes more insistent. “Sara, please just open up!” It’s Tavel.

 

“Sara, you’ve been back since yesterday. What happened?” It’s Meena now, her echoing tone in her suit.

 

“We’re  _ here _ for you, Sara. Just let us in.” Korffic calls softly, causing me to roll over, facing the back of my couch.

 

“Alright guys, back up. Let’s just give her some space.” Liam calls, I can hear my friends grumbling as they walk away, I manage to close my eyes for a few minutes, before there is knocking on my door, once more, softer, gentler. I throw my blanket off, shimmying off the edge of my couch, and pad, barefooted, across the floor to door, which I slowly open to reveal Liam standing there, his hands behind his back. “Hey, beautiful.” I let out a tearful laugh, sniffling as I reach up, wiping at my eyes as I lean against the door.

 

“Hey, Liam.” I answer, he holds out a bottle of wine in one hand, and a plastic bag, causing me to smile, it’s watery, but I force myself to press the door open further, letting him inside. He slips inside, directing me over to the couch, before he walks into the kitchen, coming back without the bag, but in turn, he has two wine glasses in hand, which he places on the table, before uncorking the bottle of wine to fill the glasses.

 

“Sit there, drink this, relax. I’ll cook dinner.” Liam says, pressing a glass into my hand, leaning down to press a platonic kiss to my forehead, causing heat to burn my cheeks, before he smiles, standing up straight to walk back into the kitchen. I watch him from the window leading from the living room into the kitchen, sipping the red wine as I watch him chop up tomatoes and garlic, basil, and a dozen other herbs and vegetables, brown hamburger meat, and boil lasagna noodles, before layering the mixture with cheese in a casserole dish while I sip on my wine the entire time. After he shoves the casserole dish into the oven, before he wanders over, sweeping up his glass to drop beside me on the couch, his arm slung across the back of the couch as I bring up my omni-tool, typing and sliding across the screen, causing my holoscreen to flicker on, Doctor Who lighting the screen up, causing Liam to smirk at me.

 

Leaning against Liam’s chest, I watch the Doctor fiddle with his sonic screwdriver, while Tiffara, his Asari companion, watches him, batting her eyelashes at him, causing me to bite back a snort. Liam’s hand caresses my head, fingers twisting in my hair to scrape against my scalp with his blunt nails, something that I’ve conveyed, in our friendship, that relaxes me. “Thank you.” I state, leaning forward to take a sip of my wine, while he takes a sip of his own. “This is… It’s a welcome change from the last week.”

 

“No problem. Ready to talk about what happened?” He asks as he pauses my show, turning to look at me, blue on brown, my stomach sinks with dread, but I force myself to look him in the eye.

 

“I…” Sighing, I drop my gaze finally. “My mum died.”

 

“Oh shit, Sara, I’m so sorry.” Liam frowns as tears well in my eyes, my head falls into my hand. “Sara…” He pulls me close, hugging me as I curl my fist in his shirt, choking back sobs as much as I can, his hand rests on the small of my back. “Sara, please stop crying. I know it hurts, I  _ know _ .”

 

“I-I’m sorry.” I hiccup, leaning back to wipe the tears away with my hand, Liam grabs my wrist, holding it to his chest, reaching his other hand out to wipe my tears from my face, much more gently than I had been.

 

“It’s okay, Sara.” He caresses my face, I lean into his touch. “You feel that?” He asks, tapping my hand that is resting over his chest. “My heartbeat? Your pain? It’s proof that things will be fine, that things will go on.”

 

“But, it-” Tears fall despite his attempt to comfort me. “it  _ hurts _ .”

 

“I know, Sara, but it’s gonna be okay. I promise.” He pulls me back into a hug, fingers tangling in my hair, nails on my scalp again, drawing soothing circles. “For now, if you need to cry, you just cry.” The tears continue to fall, my face buried in his chest, he rubs my back soothingly as I cry, and he just let’s me cry. After a while, I manage to compose myself, excusing myself to the bathroom while he checks on dinner, now standing before the mirror, I splash water on my face, before patting the heated skin own with a cool towel, feeling as though the world’s been lifted off my shoulders as I pull my tangle locks back in a braid, and step back out into the living room as Liam standing before the couch, refilling the wine glasses. “Foods almost done, about ten more minutes.”

 

“Great. It smells… amazing.” I answer, taking my wine glass in hand to sip it, before I settle into the couch.

 

“So, feel better?” He asks, causing me to beam at him.

 

“You bet. Thanks.” I notice him blinking at me. “What?”

 

“I think, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you smile.” He retorts, causing my brow to furrow.

 

“I’ve smiled before!” I deny, causing him to shake his head as his sips his wine, pointing at me.

 

“Ah, but not like that. Never a real smile, always that fake one that you show, when you don’t want others to worry.” Liam points out, causing me to nod in understanding. I know the smile e’s talking about.

 

“Well, like mother, like daughter. Mum always did the samething, forced a smile to make others forget for a while.” I shrug, pulling a knee up as I set the wine glass on the coffee table., my arms wrapped around it.

 

“Forget?” Liam asks.

 

“Yeah. My father, he always starts these fights, every time he sees me, and usually Scott jumps in, that’s about the time that fists start flying. Mum always had this peaceful aura, it’d just stop everything, the fights and snide comments, whenever she’d smile. You’d just feel happiness and serenity fill you.” I explain, focusing on a pattern in my civies.

 

“I would’ve liked to have met her.” He says, smiling at me. I go to respond, when the timer on his omni-tool goes off, causing him to pat me on the knee, jumping up to rush into the kitchen, while I stand, walking over to the shelf in the dining area to pull a holovid from it, crossing back into the living room as Liam walks out with steaming plates full of gooey-goodness, forks stuck in both slices of the pasta, he sets each plate down as he sits, and I join him, holding out the vid to him. “What’s this?”

 

“It’s a vid, from our first ever trip to Vancouver. The first time I’ve  _ ever _ seen snow.” I explain, causing Liam to smile, taking the frame in hand, I lean against him as he presses play, and the image flicker to life from the frozen place of my mom and I’s faces.

 

_ “Be careful, mom!” Scott calls as the video zooms in on my mom’s feet sliding on ice as she clings to a railing. _

 

_ “Scotty, go help her!” My voice calls from the other end of the camera. _

 

_ “You go help her.” Scott retorts, taking the camera from my grasp, I carefully glide my way over to our mother, taking one hand in my own. _

 

_ “Carefully mum. It’s just snow.” I attempt to sooth, causing her to laugh. _

 

_ “We don’t have snow, we’re spacers!” She cries in laughter, grabbing my one hand in both of hers, we start to move together, when our feet slide out from under us, causing us both to land on our butts, laughing. Scott joins in on the laughter, moving forward a bit, on for himself to fall, landing on his butt, and we howl with laughter again. _ Suddenly the vid ends, the screen flickers back to mom and I’s smiling faces, and Liam smiles at me as I feel tears falling down my face again, causing me to sniffle, reaching up to wipe them away.

 

“Sorry. Sorry.” I shake my head. “Th-That was the last time we’d gone on vacation, she’d started getting sick after that, and then dad got kicked out of the Alliance for his AI work, and things just went downhill from there.” I hiccup. “I just… I would’ve liked to let her see the snow, just one more time. We both just loved it so much.”

 

“I’ll bet she remembered, when she closed her eyes that final time, I bet that was one memory that flickered across her eyelids.” Liam consoles, causing me to smile again, nodding.

 

“Yeah, I-I hope so.” I murmur, reaching out to cut a bite of my lasagna, eating it happily. “That’s really good!” I chirp, humming contently as I eat another bite, closing my eyes as I hum again.

 

“I’m glad you like it.” Liam answers, I notice his tone is a bit tight, causing me to look at him in concern, tilting my head lightly. “So,” He is quick to change the subject before I can ask anything. “you don’t have pictures of him, and you don’t talk about him much… What’re things like with your dad?” I choke on a bite of food, causing him to stare as I wash the lodged chunk of food from my throat with some wine, then turn to stare at him, wide eyed.

 

“What?” I finally manage to croak out.

 

“Your dad. Famous N7? Veteran of first contact? How do you get on with him?” Liam asks curiously, while he starts to eat.

 

“Oh.” I look down, cutting my food on my plate, before using my fork to spear a chunk on the meat, chewing and swallowing it to bide my time. “My dad and I aren’t family. That’s as simple as I can put it.” A few minutes of silence pass between us, filled only with quiet eating.

 

“Which means what?” He finally asks, causing me to look at him.

 

“He thinks I’m broken, that I have been since I was born, because I’m different.” I explain, causing him to frown. “He thinks I need to be fixed.” The words cause me to look down, embarrassment causing heat to fill my face. “Sometimes, I think he’s right.”

 

“I disagree.” He answers, resting a hand on my own, causing me to smile awkwardly, up at him, and he smiles shyly back at me. “Sara Ryder, I think you are amazing, the way you are.” He says, causing my stomach to flutter, and I look down, eating quickly to distract myself, washing the burning food down with the wine, causing him to chuckle, joining me.  _ God, this man will be the death of me _ . I think to myself as he washes the plates and silverware, which I rinse after putting away the remaining food, letting the casserole dish to soak in the sudsy hot water, and once we’ve finished with the dishes, we wander back into the living room to pour ourselves two more glasses of wine, and finish watching the newest episodes of Doctor Who. My stomach continues to flutter weakly, making my hyper aware of every accidental brush of Liam and I’s skin, or the presence of his arm on the back of the couch behind me, yet something inside me says, I wouldn’t mind feeling like this, every moment of everyday. I wouldn’t mind this everyday. It makes me wonder, what is  _ happening _ to me?


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott comes for a visit, oh boy.

 

“What’s his name?” Scott asks at lunch, sitting across from me, the day he decides to visit, is question draw attention from Meena, Liam, Korffic, and Connor, who all look at me as I stare at my brother.

 

“What?” I ask in genuine confusion.

 

“The  _ guy _ , Sara. What’s his name!?” Scott insists, causing my brow to furrow as he scoffs, throwing a fry at me, it bounces off my forehead, landing on the table as I shake my head.

 

“ _ What guy? _ ” I insist.

 

“The guy that’s got you look so lost in thought, you’re practically drooling.” My brother retorts. “The guy you are  _ obviously _ falling for!” His words register quickly in my head, causing me to snort, rolling my eyes at him.

 

“Guy! No guy! There is no- How would I even- No guy! NOT GUY!” I stammer out.

 

“You are such a liar!” Tavel joins the conversation, Lath finally making his way out from the office.

 

“There is no guy!” I deny, my voice pitching from the blush flooding my cheeks.

 

“Liar. Look at that blush!” Scott taunts, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

 

“Who could possibly accept me like  _ this _ , Scott? At least enough to love me.” I snap, causing him to sigh, throwing another fry at me, which does the same as the first, bouncing off my head, onto the table. “Anyway, why are we talking a guy for  _ me _ ? You haven’t even shown me a picture of your new target, I want to offer my condolences for the unlucky guy.” I taunt.

 

“ **_BY THE PLOT!_ ** ” Scott shouts, his face turns bright red, causing Tavel and Meena to burst into laughter while I cross my arms over my chest, smirking.

 

“Greatest imitation of a tomato yet.” I snark, reaching out to pop a grape into my mouth, from my tray of food.

 

“There is no guy!” Scott cries.

 

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!” I laugh, causing my brother to glare at me, obviously playfully.

 

“Do you want to go, Sara? Do. You. Want. To. Go?!” He shouts, standing with his hands slammed on the table, causing me to snort, standing as the others watch my brother and I walk to the meadow beside the courtyard, and we both falling into stance.

 

“Bring it, baby brother.” I taunt.

 

“It’s  _ one _ minute, Sara!” He calls, his annoyance pushing him to make the first move, he bounces right off my biotic shield, falling to ground with the shake of his head. “Foul!” He points, climbing to his feet. “No shields.”

 

“No rules.” I retort sharply, sweeping a leg out from under him, causing his to tumble to the ground, he grabs my ankle, jerking me to the ground, and rolls on top of me, pinning my arms.

 

“Say uncle!” He says, I roll over, shoving him down to pin his arms.

 

“You say it.” He rolls, pinning my arms, before I roll pinning his, it’s nothing but the same thing for ten minutes, before he finally gets fed up, and pins me, his hands at my sides, tickling me as I let out a startled cry, burst into laughter as I kick my legs, throwing my head back as I attempt to squirm away from him. “Lemme go!  _ Scoooooott _ !” I cry out, screaming and howling in laughter. “ **_Let me go! UNCLE UNCLE!_ ** ” He continues, unrelentingly as I laugh. “ _ Liam, help! _ ” I manage to laugh out, struggling to breathe against the laughter, suddenly Scott is pulled off of me by Liam, and I lay on the ground, panting for air as my laughter calms down.

 

“You okay, Sara?” Liam asks, kneeling beside me as I sit up.

 

“I nearly peed my pants, laughing so hard!” I shoot Scott a dirty look, who looks slightly intrigued as Liam helps me to my feet. “Excuse me for a minute.” I duck inside to the bathroom, leaving the rest of them to talk.

 

_ ~Scott POV~ _

 

“What’s going on between you, and my sister?” I ask, taking a seat with this Liam person.

 

“Nothing, honest!” Liam holds up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

 

“Didn’t look like nothing. She called  _ you _ for help, and you responded faster than anyone else would have.” I point out.

 

“We’re just friends.” Liam answers, picking up an apple slice to bite into.

 

“More than friends, they’re best friends.” The turian, Tavel, answers.

 

“Like when she came back from America, she locked herself away for three days, and only Liam was allowed inside her apartment.” The Quarian, Meena, explains, causing me to look at the mixed young man beside me.

 

“She just needed space, you guys were crowding her.” Liam retorts.

 

“She let you hold her, while she cried.” The Salarian, Lath, points out.

 

“She let you inside her apartment, when none of us have been.” The Asari, Korffic, points out.

 

“She let you cook for her.” Connor adds.

 

“You drink together.” Tavel says.

 

“Eat together.” Lath reminds.

 

“Work together.” Connor continues.

 

“You are her confidant. You are her mentor. You’re also the only one of us she’s been alone around.” Meena finally says.

 

“She told  _ you _ about her autism, and our mother, and confided in you about our father. She  _ trusts _ you, like I’ve seen her trust few before. Myself included.” I shift in my seat, narrowing my eyes at him. “If you so much as look at my sister wrong, and I’ll cut your balls off, and shove them down your throat.” I threaten, causing the ex-cop to swallow thickly, nodding rapidly. “Good, I guess that’s more of a comfort than I thought. Knowing someone’s here to look after Sara.” I shake my head. “God only knows, she can barely manage to function by herself sometimes.”

 

“We all care for her, Scott. She’s part of the team.” Tavel states, causing them all to nod.

 

“She’s family.” Korffic adds, causing them to nod in agreement, once more, and a smile to find it’s way to my face.  _ Sara’s safe with these people, she’s okay. _ Just as this thought crosses my mind, Sara comes back, dropping into her seat to pop another grape into her mouth.

 

“So, what’d I miss?” She asks, causing her friends and myself all to laugh, safe for Liam, who is looking all for the part of something akin to a terrified boyfriend.

 

_ ~Sara POV~ _

 

Standing on the transit platform, I hug my brother good-bye, an opportunity he uses to whisper in my ear.  _ “Thought about dad’s offer yet?” _ He asks, we pull apart as I shake my head.

 

“It’s a lot to think about. Now, make sure you message me when you get there, so I know you’re safe. Okay?” I insist, causing him to chuckle, nodding before he hugs me again.

 

“I’ll miss you.” He says, causing me to swallow thickly.

 

“I’ll miss you, too.” I answer as we separate, his hand finding purchase in my hair, blunt nails against my scalp as I smile.

 

“You have a good life here. You have a lot of good friends.” He smirks. “That Kosta fella isn’t too bad either.” I roll my eyes, ignoring the blush filling my cheeks as he chuckles. “Looks like I hit the jackpot! It’s okay, he’s good for you. Gets you out of your shell more.”

 

“He is annoying, and pushy, and I’m-”

 

“Totally falling for him.” Scott shakes his head, smirking at me. “I wouldn’t worry, I think he feels the same, just doesn’t realize it yet. In any case, I already threatened him, in the brotherly way.” I let out an annoyed groan, causing Scott to chuckle, before glancing at the transit. “Right, gotta go. Lots of love. Bye!” With that, he’s off, ducking into the transit before the door closes.

 

“Uh, bye?” I ask, he smiles at me from the window, waving as the transit lifts off the deck, flying off as I wave back, a strange, and all too familiar feeling of loneliness fills me, like every time my twin and I separate. I press a hand to my stomach, which clenches in unease, before I look up, taking as deep breath, and turn around to walk back towards HUS-T1 HQ, my arms behind my back with my head low the entire way.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holidays used to be fun, for Sara, now they are going to be again.

 

Sitting at my desk, I stare at the picture frame in the corner, holding the holovid of the winter my brother, mother, and I had in Vancouver, a sense of loneliness filling me people around me are packing up for the holiday, while I continue to work. That’s how I’ll be this Christmas, the over-worked, unable to return home to her family, young woman, because since mom died, I’m just not welcomed by my dad, and he even sent me an email telling me not to bother coming home this Christmas. “Sara!” I jump as I realize that there is a hand being waved in my face, looking up at the owner of the hand, I find Tavel standing over me, a worried look on her face. “You okay?” She asks.

 

“Oh, yeah, I… uh, I’m fine.” I shake my head, turning back to my holocomputer.

 

“You haven’t packed it in, yet?” Tavel asks, I notice Liam is just now packing his desk up for the holiday.

 

“Oh, uh, I’m not… going home, for the holiday.” I answer, shrugging. “I’m staying here.”

 

“ _ Sara _ .” Tavel sighs.

 

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but my father’s sent me an email, making it perfectly clear that I am not welcome this holiday, and that’s… fine, with me.” I grit my teeth against the lie, tears burning in my eyes as Tavel sets a gentle hand on my arm.

 

“I’m sorry. I would invite you to spend the holiday with me, but I don’t want you to deal with my family.” She smiles playfully, causing me to let out a soft laugh.

 

“No no, you go enjoy yourself. I’ll just be here, enjoying  _ myself _ .” I answer, shaking my head as she nods, her mandibles flaring in an understanding way, and she turns around, joining the others at the the door. “Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year.” I sigh. “Now, I’m spending it alone, at my place.” I mutter under my breath.

 

“You could always come back to mine, with me.” Liam’s voice takes me by surprise, making me jump, my head snapping up as my stomach flutters, cheeks filling with heat as he rubs the back of his neck.

 

“What?!” I ask, my tone frantically surprised.

 

“Ah, that is… if you don’t want to spend Christmas alone… You can come to my house… with me… to spend Christmas, I mean!” Liam says, a bit frantic. “My mum loves guests, and she’s always made a big deal out of holidays, but this… this is her favorite holiday too!” He smiles. “We decorate, wear ugly Christmas sweaters, and sing carols, dad always spikes the eggnog after the young ones are off to bed. Mum always bakes too many sweets, and cooks too much food, and she  _ loves _ guests, and-”

 

“Liam, I don’t want to intrude.” I answer, causing him to shake his head frantically.

 

“You wouldn’t!” He refuses. “Besides, there are only a few things you’d have to worry about.” I raise an eyebrow at him.

 

“Oh?” I ask.

 

“Yeah, for one, never root for Glasgow- dad watches the same taped game every year, swindles my uncles out of credits every year.” I smirk at that. “Two, hugs, mum  _ loves _ to hug people, and she’ll especially love to hug you.” I raises both eyebrows at that, but he waves me off. “The reason for that is number three, people might believe that we’re together.”

 

“Together?” I ask in confusion, causing him to sigh, rubbing the back of his neck again. “You mean, like  _ together _ together?”

 

“Uh, yeah. See, I’ve never brought a girl home, even just a friend.” He explains, my neck and entire face flush with heat at the implications that my mind produces, and I swallow thickly.

 

“Right, well, if you’re sure I’m not intruding, Liam.” I answer.

 

“Never.” He vows, causing me to smile, standing to pack away my desk, saving my data on my computer, before he leads me out of the HQ, towards the apartments, and up the stairs, where we separate, him to his apartment to grab his luggage, me to mine to pack a quick bag, before we meet in the hall, my fingers wrapped tight around the metal thing in my pocket. “Ready?” He asks.

 

“Not quite.” I answer, pulling my hand from my pocket, holding it out to him, he holds his hand out as I drop the key into his palm, causing him to stare at it.

 

“What’s this?” He asks.

 

“A key?” My answer fades into a question at the end, nerves building in my stomach.

 

“To what?” He inquires, looking at me with his head tilted.

 

“It’s… uh… It’s to my apartment, it’s just a spare I had made-” I look down, toeing the carpet with my boot. “Look, you’re my best friend, you practically barge in if the door’s unlocked, and you’re over all the time, this is just… think of it as a sign of trust. Okay?”

 

“Shouldn’t you save this for, like, a boyfriend?” He asks.

 

“Look, just take it!” I snap, looking away in shame as I start towards the stairs, but he catches my arm, turning me back to him.

 

“Sara, don’t be upset. I’m just confused.” He says, his voice is even, tone soft.

 

“It’s just, I’ve never had such a close friend before, and knowing that you can get to me, like when I can’t get myself out of bed, someday, because I’m too depressed or something, it helps.” I reason. “I  _ like _ you having a key. It makes me feel that much safer, alright?”

 

“Alright, Sara, I trust you. Thank you, for this chance.” He says, caressing my head, letting his nails softly scrape against my scalp once again, a feeling of stimulation and soothing washes over me.

 

“Let’s go, or we’ll miss the next transit.” I state, pulling away as he lets out a rush of air, following me downstairs, and outside, in the snowy, murky weather.

 

“So, we’re not actually taking a transit. My family  _ lives _ in London, I just don’t live with them, because that’s a nightmare.” He explains, causing me to smile. “So, we’re taking a cab.” He explains as a yellow hover vehicle stops before us, Liam helps me put our bags in the back, and he holds the door open for me, allowing me to glide inside the taxi, he follows as he closes the door, spouting of an address to the cabbie, who steps on the gas, practically ramming down the road.  _ This might just kill me _ ! I think to myself, looking over at Liam who looks a little green, getting jostled around while the cabbie attempts to make conversation, Liam is being sure that I am less jostled than him, even going so far as to buckle me in himself, causing me to laugh, it comes out a bit frantic, and before long, we’re in front of his house, his luggage at his feet, my only bag around my shoulders.

 

His house is large, and old, with white bricks, and a black shingle roof, smoke rising from a chimney somewhere from the back, fresh green lawns, a semi-wraparound porch, storm windows, I see a balcony, and a bay window. My stomach is in knots as I look over at Liam, who smiles encouragingly, he takes my hand in his, squeezing it softly, before he grabs his luggage, slinging it over his shoulder, and takes my hand to lead me up the walk, up the steps, and to the door. The door swings open, revealing a kindly dark skinned woman with curly black hair, familiar brown eyes, her teeth a blindingly white, making her smile so, and her lips a ruby red, she’s dressed in a red blouse with black slacks, and a green and red Christmas tree apron. “ **_Liam!_ ** ” She calls, wrapping his in a hug that he seems to gladly return, before they pull apart, the woman squishing his cheeks. “You’re so skinny! Don’t you ever eat anything at that job of yours? How are you? Have you been working hard?” She bombards him with questions, light dancing behind her eyes.

 

“Hi, mum, nice to see you too.” Liam chuckles, practically waving her questions off. “So, uh, this is Sara.” He gestures to me, the woman turns to me, her eyes widening as she beams, wrapping me in a hug, an practically dragging me inside as Liam scurries after. “Uh, mum, wait a sec!”

 

“ **_LIAM’S BROUGHT A GIRL HOME!_ ** ” His mother screams, suddenly people start pouring into the kitchen, causing me to look frantically back a Liam as I’m practically passed around, shaking hands, and hugging strangers, names entering my ears, filed away with faces for later, the the questions start.

 

“How old are you?”

 

“Do you work at HUS-T1?”

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“How’d you meet Liam?”

 

“When did you two start going out?”

 

“What did you do before your work in Crisis Response?”

 

“When are Liam and you getting married?”

 

Those sort of questions, one after another, until I am drowning, when suddenly an all too familiar whistle is blown, causing everyone to look up at Liam, who is standing on a chair, in the middle of the kitchen, hands held up, and he spits the whistle out. “Alright,  _ yes _ I brought a girl home! This is Sara, she’s my age, and yes she works with me. She’s also autistic, and you’re overwhelming her, so everyone  _ back. Off _ .” With that, he sets down, and everyone save for the woman who answered the door, and a man, evacuate the room, which spins as I finally take a deep breath, stumbling dizzily, causing Liam to reach out, catching me in his arms as I nearly fall.

 

“I can’t… believe you brought that stupid whistle.” I shake my head, causing him to laugh, helping me to my feet as I notice man and woman share an unfamiliar look.

 

“Come here a sec.” He takes my arm, leading me back out to the porch, where he presses me down into a chair, and squats before me. “Breathe, Sara, you can do this, alright?” I clench my eyes shut for a moment, taking a deep breath in, before letting it out, and smiling down at him. “You calm?” He asks softly, causing me to shrug, and he chuckles, standing with me, he caresses my hair, nails lightly scratching my scalp as my stomach tightens. “I have faith in you.”

 

“Y-You’re probably the only one.” I stammer out, causing him to shake his head.

 

“Hey, if it gets to be too much, I can always show you my special get away place.” He offers, causing me to smile, nodding.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I answer, he leans down, pressing a kiss to my forehead, causing me cheeks to burn, and my stomach to flutter. Taking my hand in his, he leads me back inside the area from before, this time he removes his winter coat, and boots, sticking them in a small cubby on the wall by the door, revealing a form fitting black long sleeve, and black dress pants.

 

“Lemme get your coat and shoes.” He says, causing me to nod, shrugging off my winter coat, and black boots, revealing a red holiday dress with a black belt around the middle, and black leggings with snowflakes embroidered across my bottom parts of the legs. “Cute.” My blush worsens at his compliment as I brush the skirt of my dress off, and smile shyly.

 

“Thank you.” I murmur, causing him to nod as he presses a hand to the small of my back, directing me over the the man and woman from earlier.

 

“Mum, and Dad, this is Sara Ryder.” Liam introduces me, causing to suck in a sharp breath, before I smile at them. “Sara, this is Frank and Heather Kosta.”

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Kosta, I’m so sorry for intruding on your holiday.” I bow my head in respect.

 

“Nonsense! You’re Liam’s girlfriend, it’s so nice to be able to meet you!” Mr. Kosta responds, he’s in a green Christmas sweater with a red collar, and a pair of jeans, he’s fairly dark-skinned too, for Liam looking mixed, with thinning black hair.

 

“Well, actually, I-”

 

“Of course, Liam could have called ahead of time, all though you two just came straight from work, and it’s already getting late. Why we show you to your room, and you can rest until dinner’s ready?” Mrs. Kosta cuts me off.

 

“Actually, Mrs. Kosta-”

 

“Oh drop the titles! It’s Heather and Frank to you, or hopefully mum and dad some day.” Frank interrupts as I look back at Liam as his parents start to lead from the room, he follows quickly, looking just as lost as I feel.

 

“Look, um, Frank, and Heather, I-”

 

“We also are under no illusion that you and Liam don’t share a bedroom,” My eyes widen at that, face burning as I look back at Liam for help, he’s looking just as lost. “but we’ve put a cot in there, in case one of the cousins show up, but now one of you can sleep on it. The rule of the house, if you don’t have a ring, you don’t share a bed.”

 

“But, we-”

 

“No buts!” We’re already up the stairs, without a chance for me to look around. “You just hush up, and conserve your strength for the rest of tonight, and we’ll have an extra place setting at dinner tonight.”

 

“If you’d just-”

 

“Anywho, here we are, in ya go.” I’m shoved into a large room with Liam beside me, the door closing as I look over at my best friend, the two of us wearing identically lost expressions.  _ Did that just happen? _ I think to myself, glancing back the door, before I nod once, firmly to myself.

 

“That… That just happened.” I state, as if a confirmation to my own thoughts.

 

“I know.” Liam answers.

 

“Your family thinks we’re dating.” I point out, a bit frantic, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

 

“I know.” He echos.

 

“I don’t think I can handle people thinking we’re dating!” I cry.

 

“I know!” He answers, looking over at me as my tears well in my eyes, and I cross over the cot, sitting on the end, staring at my hands. “You okay?” He asks.

 

“I don’t know.” I answer quietly.

 

“Hey,” He kneels before me, taking his hands in my own, his eyes focusing on my face as he smiles reassuringly. “it’s alright. It’s not like they gave us a chance to explain. It was all kind of sudden, but I’m sure once we explain the misunderstanding, this will become something we can laugh at.”

 

“R-Right.” I nod, pulling one of my hands up to wipe at one of my eyes, he smiles as he reaches up, nails scraping against my scalp in soothing circles, I can feel myself calming down as I clear my throat, and look around the room from my cot. “It’s a nice room.” I state, the walls are white, queen size bed is up against the far wall, beside a window, which has a brown end table housing a fancy white lamp on it, a small, old-fashions sewing desk has been transformed into another end table, housing a table lamp, it sits before a window on the left wall. The carpet is white, with gray Xs embroidered across them, it feels nice as I rub my feet across it, one of two picture frames hang on the walls, and the door closest to my cot leads to a bathroom, I can only tell because it’s open.

 

“Thanks. It’s my old room.” Liam says, standing as I compose myself enough to stretch my arms above my head, and look over at him.

 

“So, what’re we gonna do, until we’re allowed to leave the room?” I ask, causing him to chuckle.

 

“We can go talk to my parents now.” He says as he unzips his luggage, starting to unpack, my stomach drops, nerve-ends tingling as I wrap my arms around my stomach, and it’s all I can do, to keep from kneeling down, curling up in a ball. “Sara?” He turns to me from unpacking, my silence probably alerting him. “ _ Sara! _ ” He’s at my side in less than three strides, wrapping arm around my waist, keeping me upright as tears burn in my eyes. “Sara, talk to me. You can’t shut down, you have to talk to me.” His voice is so soft, very sweet as my head reels, and I cling to his shirt for a minute, trying to keep myself from panicking.

 

“I’m fine. It’s just-” I shake my head. “It’s nothing.” I lie, forcing myself to uncurl from him, my fingers finding purchase in my hair, scratching and scraping at my scalp as I move towards the bathroom, but he grabs my arm, pulling me around to look at him.

 

“Tell me the truth.” He says, causing me to frown.

 

“I-”

 

“ _ Sara _ ,” He warns. “I  _ know _ when you’re lying, or about to lie, we’ve been friends for too long, for me not to know.”

 

“I just…” I swallow thickly as I look into his eyes. His eyes are warm, full of understanding and patience, they remind me of a melted chocolate. “I don’t want to sleep in another room, at an unfamiliar house. We share quarters on the ships we take, to other planets, but that’s for a few days, and I don’t think your parents would see it as fine. It makes me nervous.”

 

“It’s gonna be alright, Sara. Besides, who’s to even say that we’re going to be separated?” He smiles, taking my hand in his. “Let’s just go talk to my parents, alright?” I press my lips firmly together, and nod, causing his smile to widen as he leads me to the door, and we backtrack down the stairs. In the kitchen, Liam’s parents are talking quietly, allowing me a chance to look around, the walls are white, cabinets are a natural wood color, there is are marble counters, an island with a farm sink, their appliances are stainless steel, and the floors are hardwood, the way a person’s kitchen is, can tell you a lot about them. This kitchen screams both  _ classy _ and  _ home _ at the same time, something that is difficult to accomplish, but not impossible, it helps calm me as Frank and Heather look up, surprised to see us.

 

“Ah, Liam! Sara! Is something the matter?” Heather asks as I look over at Liam, who squeezes my hand reassuringly, before he speaks up.

 

“Look, I realize you guys were excited to see me, and that I brought home a girl, but I have to tell you guys something.” Liam starts out carefully, while I rub my free hand against the side of my dress, wiping at my sweaty palm.

 

“You can tell us anything, you know that.” Frank says, I can tell he’s attempting to assure us.

 

“Sara and I… we’re…” I notice his parents leaning in, as if clinging to his every word, and I look down. “We’re not dating.” Liam finally explains, causing his parents’ faces to morph into a look of surprise.

 

“What?” His mother asks, causing me to nod as they look at me, as if I would tell them he’s lying, or something. “But, we thought…”

 

“I know. It’s just, Sara’s my  _ best _ friend, and she lost her mum a while ago, and doesn’t get on well with her dad well, so he told her not to bother going home for the holidays, and she was going to spend them alone, at the office.” Liam hurries to explain.

 

“In all fairness, he did warn me that people would make the assumption that we’re together.” I state, though my voice is quiet, seemingly causing them to have trouble hearing me.

 

“W-We’re sorry. That must have been so uncomfortable, that we started to layer that on you two!” Frank steps forward to apologize.

 

“We’ll have a guest bedroom made up for you.” Heather says softly, causing me to squeeze Liam’s hand, he looks over at me as I look up at him, worriedly.

 

“Actually, shouldn’t we save the guest rooms for the others?” Liam asks, looking over at his parents. “We usually are over flowing for Christmas, and it’s not like Sara and I don’t share quarters on occasion.” Confusion flickers over his parents faces. “You know, on the ships we take?”

 

“Oh, right, but don’t you share quarters with everyone, during those times?” Heather inquires.

 

“Yeah, but it’s not like it’ll bother us any, just the two of us.” Liam retorts, causing me to nod, as if that’s any helpful.

 

“Well, you’re grown adults. If you’re both fine with it, then I suppose sharing a room is fine.” His parents consent, causing me to smile up at my friend, the buzzing in my nerves starts to relax, and my stomach on unclenches.

 

“Thank you.” I murmur, causing Liam’s parents to exchange looks, before Heather comes over, hugging me, before Liam leads me back upstairs, and we both start to unpack our luggage, before I collapse on the cot, and he falls asleep on the bed, both of us tuckered out quite quickly. Neither of us wakes up, until late, later that night.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of the Holiday, and already, things are starting to become interesting.

 

“ _ Sara? Sara!? _ ” I groan, rolling over with my arms falling over my head, blocking my ears, in return, something starts prodding my side. “ _ Sara, wake up! _ ” Is punctuated with the side of my bed lifting, forcing me to roll, landing on the floor with a thump, and I let out a groan of pain.

 

“ **_Liam._ ** ” I growl, sitting up in the dark to glare at him, which is useless considering the only light it the room is the alarm clock, with red numbers that read… “ **_It is 2:15 in the morning!_ ** ” I hiss in a whisper, causing him to nod.

 

“ _ I know. If we didn’t wake up now, though, we’d throw our entire sleep schedule off balance. _ ” Liam answers, using a whisper as I let my head fall back, and let out a whimper of exhaustion. Rolling under the cot, I am about to fall asleep on the floor, when Liam grabs my ankle, hauling me out from under my safe haven, and he flicks on the light, causing me to groan in annoyance.

 

“You  **_suck_ ** .” I state, causing him to laugh, my eyes raking over his black briefs, and bare chest. “Uh… where are your pajamas?”

 

“Be glad I’m wearing these! I usually sleep in the buff.” He answers, causing my face to flush with heat, and I kick him in the leg. “Ouch?”

 

“I didn’t need to know that!” I state.

 

“It’s no worse than you sleeping in your underwear!” He exclaims, causing my eyes to widen.

 

“I was  _ drunk!  _ I was  _ hot _ !” I cry, climbing to my feet to grab my robe from the nearby chair, wrapping it around myself.

 

“I’m talking about now.” He answers.

 

“It’s a pair of shorts and a tank top.” I snort, tying my sash around my waist.

 

“Whatever. Aren’t you hungry?” He suddenly changes the subject, causing me to raise an eyebrow at him. “I’m going to sneak down for some food, come join me.”

 

“I don’t think so.” I answer.

 

“I’m sure we’ve got cocoa somewhere.” He tempts, causing me to smile.

 

“Okay, let’s go!” He chuckles as we quietly exit the room, tiptoeing through his house, and down to the kitchen, he at least had the decency to put on some sweatpants, where he flicks on the small light above the stove.

 

“What’re you hungry for?” He asks as he opens the fridge, bathing us both in the golden light as we peek inside. “We’ve got leftovers, and eggs, ham and bacon.” He reaching into the fridge, rooting around. “Chocolate cake, cookies, apple pie, cherry turnovers, you name it, I’m sure we’ve got it.” He says, causing me to smile, shuffling my feet back and forth against the hard wood floors.

 

“Steak and baked potatoes?” I tease.

 

“I’d have to cook em, but that sounds good.” He answers, causing me to nod, scurrying over to the island, I sit on one of the stools as he pulls out steaks, potatoes, mushrooms, and asparagus, setting to work prepping and cooking.

 

“So, let’s say hypothetically, that someone had discovered an entire new galaxy.” He nods. “And, hypothetically, they’ve decided to start an initiative to travel to this galaxy, that would take, oh let’s say, 600 years to get to.”

 

“Alright?” He glances over at me as I look down, tracing a path across the table top.

 

“Now, let’s say, hypothetically, that my dad got offered a key position in the initiative, and he, hypothetically, wanted my brother and I to join him… what would you think?” I ask, glancing up at him from under my eyelashes.

 

“You’re talking about the Andromeda Initiative.” He states, causing me to blink. “It’s been all over the news.” He explains, answering my unspoken question.

 

“Oh.” I look back down, tracing the marble again.

 

“Listen, it’s hypothetical, right?” He teases, but I nod anyway. “Hypothetically, you should do whatever it is, that you want. If you want to go, then go, but don’t let your dad have all the glory, make a name for yourself too.”

 

“Have you thought about going?” I ask, unable to help my curiosity. He pauses in the middle of flipping a steak, looking back at me, only to turn back to the stove to flip the steak, and add the mushrooms into the melted butter of a pot, turning the heat down, he covers both, before turning back to me.

 

“Look, I’ll admit, it has some perks. Don’t you think?” He asks, causing me to shrug, nodding my head. “A whole new galaxy, new planets full of new things to discover. A place where  _ nobody _ knows your name.”

 

“ **_That_ ** has some appeal to it.” I state.

 

“Oh, right, cause of the AI thing with your dad.” Liam nods, leaning against the counter as we talk.

 

“Yeah, you can imagine how that is, for me.” I answer, causing him to smile.

 

“Hey, I don’t think any less of you, for your dad’s mistakes. Neither does any of the others. You’re our friend, Sara, and we care about you  _ alone _ .” Liam’s voice is soft, he places his hand over my own, squeezing it as I smile up at him.

 

“Th-Thanks, Liam. That means a lot to hear you say that.” I say, causing him to chuckle, pulling my head down to kiss my forehead.

 

“I only speak the truth.” He states, turning back to the stove to fill a plate, sticking a fork in the steak, he places the plate before me, and hands me a knife, before he joins me with his own plate of food, and start both start to eat in comfortable silence. Once we finish our food, we both tackle the dishes, he washes while I rinse, leaving them to dry. “You know, you shouldn’t worry about the past too much, Sara. And, wait for the future, because it’s only when absolutely necessary, that the future takes precedence. Just enjoy the present.”

 

“You’re trying to sound like a monk.” I state, causing him to smirk. “You sound weird.” That causes his face to fall, before he flings suds at me, causing me to let out a laugh, sloshing water at him, causing him to scoff, soaking me back, causing me to burst into laughter. The two of us starting a water fight, when suddenly the kitchen floods with light, causing us to turn, finding Heather and Frank standing there, looking at us, neither seem mad.

 

“Hey mum, hey dad, up for your morning run?” Liam notes, his voice is light, and I notice that they’re both in sweatpants, and hoodies, a pair of sneakers on both of their feet, Heather moves to the fridge, opening it to pull out two bottles of water.

 

“Yes, would you two like to join us?” Frank offers.

 

“Uh…”

 

“Actually, I was gonna show Sara something.” Liam answers, causing me to look at him in confusion. “The car?” He states, causing his parents to nod their head, as if they knew that.

 

“Oh. That’s fine.” Heather answers for them both, before they move towards the door. “And Liam, clean up your mess.” She smiles at her son, before they leave, and I smile up at him as he pulls a rag from a nearby drawer, using it to clean up the water quickly.

 

“Get changed, I’ll make us some cocoa.” Liam states, causing me to nod, hurrying quietly through the living room, up the stairs, and into the room, slipping the door shut. Shrugging my top off, I replace it with an old red sweater, exchanging my shorts for a pair of civies, I roll on a pair of my socks, before starting down the stairs again, rounding into the kitchen just as Liam places a mug at my seat, and he looks up at me as I braid my hair back in a fishtail. “You realize, that in the  _ months _ that I’ve known you, that I’ve seen your hair down a grand total of three times?” He points out suddenly, causing me to blink as I drop into my stool once more, shrugging as I lift my mug to my lips, sipping the sweet cocoa.

 

“Stimulation.” I state, as if that explains it, and it kind of does, he grabs my hand, causing me to look up at him as he smiles, my cheeks flooding with heat, heart hammering against my ribcage, and my stomach fills with butterflies.

 

“Right, I’ll be right back.” He promises, letting go of my hand before, he ducks out of the room, probably going to change, and I sink down into my seat, resting my head on the cool marble counter.  _ I don’t know what to do… I think, I’m falling for my best friend. _ I worry my bottom lip between my teeth at that thought, reaching up to twirl the end of my braid around my finger.  _ I think, I’m falling for Liam _ . I sigh.

 

“Sara Ryder, the girl who can’t stop herself from doing dumbass things.” I murmur, taking a drink of my cocoa. “On my tombstone, they’re gonna write, Here Lies Sara Ryder. Died because she’s dumb.”

 

“Nah,” I jump, whirling around to find Frank standing in the backdoor, Heather beside him. “it’ll be more like like, Here Lies Sara Ryder, died because of loving those who loved her.” Frank taunts, the two of them cross over to the island, taking a seat on either side of me.

 

“What’s wrong?” Heather asks, resting her hand on my shoulder, causing me to frown.

 

“It’s nothing.” I answer, shaking my head.

 

“ _ Please _ .” Heather insists. “It has something to do with Liam?” She asks, causing my cheeks to flood with heat again, Frank laughs, good naturedly. “Sara, be honest, are you and Liam dating?”

 

“No, Mrs. Kosta,” She looks at me. “Heather, sorry, we’re honestly not dating.” I look down, finger drawing along the rim of my mug. “I’m not even sure he thinks of me like that. I’m probably more like a little sister.”

 

“But, you care for him as more?” Frank asks, my ears start to heat up too, and I nod.

 

“I think… I might  _ like _ him more than I can say.” I answer, causing Heather to clap giddily, bouncing in her seat.

 

“Yay!” She chirps, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her. “You like Liam! Liam likes you too, dearest, he just doesn’t realize it yet.” She hugs me, before they stand, filling their water bottles, before ducking out the back door, not before giving me a reassuring pat on the back, and a few minutes pass, before Liam comes bounding in, stopping at my side.

 

“Ready to go?” He asks, causing me to swallow the rest of my cocoa, standing with a firm nod, and he takes my head, pulling me toward the back door. The two of us slip on our shoes, bundling up, before hurrying outside, where Liam leads towards their disconnected garage, opening the door with a key, and flicks on a light, revealing a 21st century, petrol burning car!

 

“Holy shit!” I scream, causing him to chuckle, nodding as I walk over to the car, running my hand over the hood. “You said a car, but I didn’t think you meant an actual…  _ car! _ ” I exclaim, causing him to cross his arms over his chest, smirking as he watches me. “Like, Liam, this is a  _ car _ car!”

 

“Yeah. Every Sunday, my mum, dad, and I would come out here, and wrench on it together. Mum’s idea, and dad likes to keep mum happy.” Liam shrugs, before I run my hand over the hood once more, turning to him.

 

“Your family is amazing. I’m completely jealous.” I state, causing him to chuckle, albeit a bit awkwardly, and he rubs the back of his neck.

 

“Yeah, I guess they are pretty great. They seem to like you a lot too.” He states, causing me to blush, a shy and happy smile finds it’s way to my face, and I look down, toeing the concrete flooring of the garage with my boot.

 

“I’m glad I made a decent first impression, at least.” I respond, leaning against the hood of the car with both of my hands splayed out next to me. “At least  _ someone’s _ dad likes me well enough.”

 

“Hey,” Liam steps forward, leaning on the car beside me, and wraps an arm around my shoulders, a thrill shoots down my spine at the abrupt contact, my heart hammering in my chest as heat floors my entire face, and to make matters worse, he presses a kiss to my forehead. Somehow, it doesn’t feel platonic anymore. He looks at me, confusion in his eyes for a moment, before he shakes his head, hugging me around the shoulders again. “Your dad  _ loves _ you, even if he doesn’t know it. So, don’t give up yet, okay?”

 

“Okay.” I nod, smiling up at him softly, my eyes are on his, blue on brown, and the air suddenly feels electric, currents flowing between us through the air.

 

“Hey, Sara?” He asks, his voice is soft, mellow as he holds my gaze.

 

“Hmm?” I ask.

 

“Would you…” He reaches out, caressing my face, the currents in the air seems to snap, popping as soon as he touches my skin, sending tingles through me, originating from that spot. “Would you mind if I…?” He seems to start leaning closer, my eyes slip shut, every nerve coming alive as his breath fans over my face.

 

“Liam, can you-?” I jump back, my eyes snapping open, while Liam jumps back as well, turning to face one of his uncles, or cousins in the door, who looks a bit sheepish.

 

“Coming!” Liam responds quickly, rushing away from me as my heart slams in my chest, aching as I slump to the ground once they’ve disappeared, Liam looking none to worse for wear, let alone showing any sign of what almost happened.  _ That’s the question though… what  _ **_did_ ** _ almost happen? _ I ask myself in my head.  _ I guess it might be up to me, to find out _ .


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geth, Tension, heartache, and longing. What's not to like?

 

_ I’m going to die!  _ That’s all that crosses my mind as I bolt down the hall of the Citadel.  _ I’m going to die, and I haven’t even told Liam I like him! _ I can heard the whirring and clicking of the artificial intelligence creatures, the AI, as they walk around, guns poised, and ready to kill everything organic in sight. Had I known that Geth would  _ invade _ the Citadel today, of all days, I would not have offered to come pick up some much needed supplies, and greet a family member for Heather Kosta, I would have stayed at the house, and dealt with Liam ignoring and avoiding me. But, the tension was so bad, I just  _ couldn’t _ stay in that house any more, for Heather suggested to have me run her errands, which led to the Citadel, which then led to the Geth invasion, which led to now.

 

Gasping for breath as I slide under a nearby pillar that hand toppled over, I press myself flat against the nearest wall, a silenced pistol clasped in my hands as I lean around the edge of the wall, checking for clearance. A large Geth appears suddenly, stepping out of another hall, causing my breath to hitch as I duck behind cover before it can see me, pressing one hand to my mouth to muffle my breathing. My chest rises and falls rapidly, my eyes clenched shut as fear drizzles down my spine, ( _ or maybe that’s the blood from my cut _ ), and I suck in a breath, rounding the corner to shoot the Geth repeatedly- it goes down on the fifth shot, and I jump over a nearby bench, crossing the bridge. I manage to get to the market place, when the Citadel rocks, glass crashes down from the artificial sky, complete with shrapnel from an Alliance Military ship, I barely manage to roll out of the way as the shrapnel slices the bridge I was just about to cross, to the Consort’s chambers, water soaking me through. I let out a rattled cough, I look up at the protective beam that flickers to life over the whole above, revealing a great space battle, and I feel my stomach lurch.

 

Turning back, I start through the Presidium, going to back the back way to the Consort’s Chambers, when I hear the clicking and whirring of more Geth, causing me to panic, looking for a place to hide, when a blazing hot beam slices my upper cheek, causing me to freeze, reaching up to feel the suddenly marred flesh, when another beam lands in my shoulder, knocking me to the ground, causing me to grit my tear, stifling my cry, I climb to my feet with my gun in my hand, blasting the Geth right in it’s light bulb head, and as it clatters to the ground, it alerts it’s friend, who turns, rapidly firing blindly. Just as I blast that one down, another beam lands in my leg, sending me to the ground in an agonizing scream, my gun clattering from my grasp, I force myself to crawl into a nearby room, the door slides closed as I lean on the nearest wall, bathing me in the dark. I manage to shed my bloody jacket, tying is tight against my wound on my leg, keeping the pressure on it as I hold my bleeding shoulder, my head leaning back against the wall behind me, eyes fluttering weakly.  _ I am not a solider. I am a technical expert. I am a Crisis Response member. I am…  _ **_going to die_ ** . The last thought causes tears to well in my eyes, falling down my face, the salt burns my cut on my cheek, and I sniffle, attempting to compose myself as my head feels a bit foggy.

 

I don’t know how long I am in this small room, could be minutes, could be hours, it feels like days. All I know is that I’m losing blood, and the walls are beginning to creep in, pressing on me from all sides. It’s only when I can’t breath any longer that I force the door open, falling onto the ground outside, and weakly start to army crawl away from the room, before everything starts to go fuzzy, before going dark. Coming to again, it’s to a burning bright light overhead, causing my eyes to water, and I blink against the light as I lean up, only to gasp in pain, grabbing my shoulder as I fall back on what appears to be a cot. “ **_Sara!_ ** ” My eyes snaps open at the relief filled voice, turning my head to find someone kneeling beside my cot, their face comes into focus, and my heart starts to hammer.

 

“L-Liam?!” I cry out, attempting to sit up again, only to whimper in pain, falling back once more.

 

“Sara, thank god you’re okay!” He cries in relief, slipping his hand under me to the small of my back, helping me lean up into a sitting position.

 

“What happened? I mean, after the attack on the Citadel?” I shake my head softly.

 

“What do you remember?” Liam asks, his tone is delicate, careful.

 

“I remember gunning down Geth, left and right, then… pain…”I reach up to my cheek, my fingers caressing the surface of my bandage, and I feel a lump in my throat. “I got cut up by a bunch of glass, and shrapnel broke the ceiling. I was trying to get to the Consort’s chamber, because it was the best chance for survival, but then… the pain, and I forced myself to hide in the nearest room.” I shutter. “It was so small, and so cramped.” I whimper, causing Liam to rub my knee of my uninjured leg. “I didn’t know how long it had been, but I could feel the walls leaning on me, and I had to get out. That’s where everything goes blank.”

 

“You scared us, you know? We heard these was an attack on the Citadel, and even mum was trying to get us to the nearest ship, faster than I’d ever seen. Only one person could come, and I fought them the entire time, until they let me come.” He caresses my cheek, and I can feel tears welling in my eyes, looking down at my hands.

 

“There’s gonna be a scar. A few scars, isn’t there?” I finally ask, causing him to pause, slipping his hand from my cheek, he grasps my chin, and tugs my head to look at him.

 

“Yeah, and it’ll be badass. Don’t worry so much.” He answers, causing me look down again.

 

“Liam, you just don’t get it. I  _ hate _ my body, as is… a couple  _ scars _ , and now I feel warped and disgusting.” I state, turning my entire body away from him, my feet firmly on the floor.

 

“ _ Hey _ .” I can hear the frown in his tone. “ _ Sara! _ ” His fingers brush my arm as I stand, sending jolts across my skin, but I attempt to ignore it, crossing over to the nearest doctor, favoring my leg, a quick check up, he replaces my bandages, gives me a prescription, and allows me to move on, Liam leading me towards the nearest transit back to Earth. The two of us are sitting side by side, shoulder to shoulder, our arms brushing from the close proximity, the air between us tense once more, despite his evident worry earlier. “Do me a favor?” I jump at his sudden question, breaching the silence between us.

 

“It depends on what the favor is.” I answer, rubbing my forehead with my hand of my uninjured arm.

 

“Don’t go, where I can’t follow.” He states, causing me to blink rapidly, looking at him in surprise. “I  _ mean _ it, Sara. Don’t got, where I can’t follow.”

 

“I… I can’t…” I manage to squeak out, tears starting to fall again as I look down.

 

“What do you mean, you  _ can’t _ !?!” He snaps his head towards me, his face softens as I wipe my eyes. “Hey, hey.” He gently wraps an arm around me, pulling me close. “Don’t cry. Why’re you crying?” He asks, his voice is soft, and cling to his shirt, sobbing as he holds me against his chest. “Sara,  _ breath _ , talk to me.” He softly croons, causing me to clench my eyes shut, clamping my jaw shut tightly, taking deep breathes as I pull away from his arms, begrudgingly rubbing the tears from my eyes and cheeks.

 

“I can’t promise you anything like that, Liam. Because, things aren’t always going to be like this.” His face morphs into one of realization.

 

“Sara, what did you do?” He asks.

 

“Nothing, like you think.” I answer, focusing on my boots. “I… I’m going.”

 

“Going? Going where?” Liam asks, causing me to bite my bottom lip, wringing my hands as guilt fills my stomach.

 

“Andromeda.” I answer, looking up at him. “I said I’d go.”

 

“You…” Liam blinks once, twice, and a third time, before he clenches his jaw, turning away, allowing the silence to engulf us again, the walls of the shuttle seem that much smaller as I pointedly focus on anything except Liam, or the cramped spaces of the shuttle. The silence remains, even as we land, Heather and Frank meeting us almost as soon as we leave the shuttle, Liam brushes his parents off, leaving them confused as they also fuss over me, before we get in the car, and go to their house. As soon as Liam and I enter the bedroom we share, I close the bedroom door, turning on him with a glare.

 

“ **_What_ ** is your problem?!” I demand, causing him to glare at me. “You  _ knew _ I was thinking about going! I told you!”

 

“You don’t think, do you?!” He demands, stalking forward with such anger, that I fall against the door in surprise. “About the people who care for you! About the friends who live here! You just… You do whatever you please!”

 

“I… Are you trying to say that I’m selfish?!” I scream, causing his brow to furrow.

 

“Yeah, I guess I am.” He answers.

 

“Are you- I’m not the one, screwing with people’s heads!” I accuse, shoving him back as hard as I can, causing him to look at me in surprise as he regains his footing. “I’m not the one, causing so much turmoil in someone, that they can’t  _ think _ straight! That they-” I shake my head, turning to open the door, and stalk out.

 

“ **_Sara!_ ** ” Liam calls after me, but I flip him off, stalking down the stairs, and exit the house through the front door, crossing over to the garage, where I grab the spare key from the top of the door frame, sliding it into the lock, and slip inside the ice cold garage, after placing the key back into place. Closing the door behind me, I drop onto the cold leather car seats that are against the nearest wall, tears falling as my head falls into my hand, the air is so cold, you can see people's breath, but I don’t care as I curl up on my side, ignoring the screaming of wounds, and cry myself to sleep.

 

_ “Sara, darling, are you okay?” Mom asks, peeking into my room, her tone is soothing as I curl into a ball, sobbing. “Oh, sweetheart…” She crosses to my bed, pulling me close. “What happened?” _

 

_ “Dad told me that I’m selfish, that I’m ruining every chance that Scott has at a normal life!” I sob out. _

 

_ “Sweetheart, you  _ **_know_ ** _ that isn’t true.” She soothes. _

 

_ “Isn’t it?!” I ask, causing her to frown. “He’s a big shot student, with a good chance in the Alliance program- if he didn’t have to deal with his retarded, selfish sister!” I hiss causing my door to fly open, Scott stands there seething. _

 

_ “You  _ **_aren’t_ ** _ selfish, and dad can go to Hell!” Scott shouts, causing mom to frown, standing as she crosses to my brother, who shrugs past her, grabbing me in a rib crushing hug. “I’d rather be next to you, my entire life, than being a big star.” _

 

_ “But-” _

 

_ “No! Now, you listen to me, Sara, and  _ **_wake up!_ ** _ ” _ My eyes fly open, shivers racking my body as two gently hands grasps my shoulders, Heather stands above me, face completely full of worry as my eyes flutter shut weakly.

 

“Sara,  _ wake up! _ ” She shouts in my face, causing me to force eyes open again, and she helps me to sit up. “What’re you doing out here?!” She asks, rubbing my arms.

 

“F-F-Fought w-w-with L-Li-Liam.” I stammer out, my teeth clattering as my eyes flutter, and she shakes me softly.

 

“Come on, you need to stand up.” She urges me to my feet, and slowly we move towards the house, her hands constantly rubbing my bare arms.

 

“H-How di-did you f-f-f-find me?” I manage to get out as we enter the front door.

 

“I went out to get the fish, for dinner tomorrow, and you were on the seat. Sweetie, your lips are blue.” She worries, turning to a kid nearby. “Matthew, go get Liam. Someone else, get me some blankets.” The boy hops off the couch, where Heather settles me on, and bolts upstairs, a couple people move to grab some blankets. A few moments later, Heather hands me a mug of cocoa which burns my frozen fingers, before she wraps a fleece blanket around my shoulder, before a comforter is followed, and Liam comes tromping down the stairs, a sour look on his face.

 

“What?” He hisses at his mother, who is standing before me, blocking me room view.

 

“You are Sara fought?” She demands.

 

“She was being selfish!” Liam retorts as I bite my lip.

 

“No, the fact that she felt the need to sleep in the garage, proves  _ you  _ are being selfish.” Heather answers, moving out of the way to gesture to me, Liam’s face falls as he drops to his knees before me.

 

“What were you thinking?!” He cries, causing Heather to nod to the others, everyone leaves the room, and I look down, setting the cocoa on the table beside the couch, and look back at him.

 

“You aren’t happy with me, and I didn’t know where else to go.” I answer, causing him to take my hands in his own, wincing at the chilled skin.

 

“You’re like a popsicle!” He says, rubbing my hands with his own, I watch as he leans down, breathing on them, before he looks back up at me. “If I’m pissed off, that doesn’t mean that you go sleep in the garage!”

 

“But, I-”

 

“No, that’s ridiculous.” He chides softly, reaching up to caress my cheek, I lean into his warm, eyes downcast as he sighs. “You’re the most ridiculous person, that I have ever met.”

 

“You were angry! I was angry! We needed space!” I attempt to explain.

 

“So, you sleep in the garage?” He counters, chuckling as he shakes his head. “You, Sara Ryder, are the strangest girl I’ve ever known.” His hand lightly traces the outline of my lips. “Your lips are blue.” He states.

 

“Y-Your mom already… pointed that out.” I respond, feeling my stomach flutter nervously, the tension in the air is replaced with electric currents, and I reach out to touch his cheek with my free hand, he pulls me closer, before I freeze, hesitating as I bite my bottom lip, clenching my eyes to pull away. “I… can’t.”

 

“Right…” Liam sighs, pulling away. “Cause, you’re going to Andromeda, and…” He shakes his head. “Sorry.” With that, he stands, walking away to climb back up the stairs, and I look down, leaning back in my seat.  _ Things have changed. Things can’t be the same, ever again _ . I feel tears prickle behind my eyes, but I blink them back.  _ No matter how much, I want to kiss him. That’s not something I can do _ .


End file.
